Releasable hanging system

ABSTRACT

A releasable hanging system having a loop fastener component and a hook fastener component. The loop fastener component includes a flexible patch carrying a field of engageable fibers exposed on a front side of the patch and an adhesive on a back side of the patch. The hook fastener component includes a resin base carrying an array of male touch fastener elements. A significant majority of the male touch fastener elements each extend from the base to a distal tip to overhang the base in a single, common direction. The fastening system can be used to hang an object on a vertical surface such that the male touch fastener elements of the significant majority bear the weight of the object in a downward direction, and such that the significant majority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented so as not to inhibit lifting of the object in an upward direction.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S.provisional patent application No. 61/387,937, filed Sep. 29, 2010, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to releasably and adjustably hanging objects onsurfaces such as walls, and to releasable hanging systems.

BACKGROUND

There are many ways to hang things on walls. Some make permanent holesin the wall, such as nails and tacks. Others rely on adhesive, but someadhesives used for hanging things damage the walls upon removal. Morerecently, adhesive hanging systems have been introduced that can beremoved without damage to most wall surfaces, by progressivelystretching the adhesive in a shear mode to detach a rigid hook hanger,for example, from the wall.

Some things hung on walls are flexible, such as posters and papers.Others, such as framed pictures and art, are rigid and present greaterdifficulties in removal if adhesively attached to walls, because theycan not be flexed to peel them from the wall.

When using some hanging techniques, care must be taken to properly alignand place the hanging components, so that the object being hung ends uplevel and at the desired height, for example.

Other systems for releasably hanging things, particularly rigid things,on surfaces such as walls, are sought.

SUMMARY

In general, various innovative aspects of the subject matter describedin this specification feature a releasable hanging system including aloop fastener component and a hook fastener component in combinationwith one or more of the innovative aspects described below.

In a first aspect, hanging an object with a releasable hanging systemincludes selecting a desired orientation of the object with respect to avertical surface having a first field of touch fastener elements andsecuring a second field of touch fastener elements to a back side of theobject. One of the first and second touch fastener element fieldsincludes an array of male touch fastener elements, each extending from acommon base. The other of the first and second touch fastener elementfields includes a multiplicity of fibers distributed over an area andengageable by the male touch fastener elements. The object is hung onthe vertical surface with the fibers releasably engaged by the maletouch fastener elements.

In a second aspect, hanging an object with a releasable hanging systemincludes selecting a desired orientation of the object with respect to avertical surface and securing a second field of touch fastener elementsto a back side of the object. A first field of touch fastener elementsis releasably engaged with the second field of touch fastener elements.One of the first and second touch fastener element fields includes anarray of male touch fastener elements, each extending from a commonbase. The other of the first and second touch fastener element fieldsincludes a multiplicity of fibers distributed over an area andengageable by the male touch fastener elements. The object is hung onthe vertical surface by securing the first field of touch fastenerelements to the vertical surface.

In the first and second aspects, a significant majority of the maletouch fastener elements are oriented to overhang the base in a single,common direction, each male touch fastener element of the significantmajority extending from the base to a distal tip. As used herein, “asignificant majority” may range, for example, from at least 75 percentof the male touch fastener elements to essentially all of the male touchfastener elements. In some examples, at least 90 percent or at least 95percent of the male touch fastener elements are oriented to overhang thebase in a single, common direction. The orientation of the significantmajority of the male touch fastener elements is such that, with theobject hanging on the vertical surface, the fastener elements of thesignificant majority bear the weight of the object in a downwarddirection and such that the significant majority of the male touchfastener elements are oriented so as to not inhibit lifting of theobject in an upward direction.

In some implementations, the second field of touch fastener elementsincludes the array of male touch fastener elements. The back side of theobject can be flat in an area where the second field of touch fastenerelements is secured. The vertical surface on which the object is hung, aregion of the back side of the object where the second field of touchfastener elements is secured, or both may be rigid. Securing the secondfield of touch fastener elements to the back side of the object caninclude securing multiple, spaced-apart patches to the back side of theobject, each patch carrying a portion of the second field of touchfastener elements. In some cases, the patches are spaced aparthorizontally on the back side of the object in the selected orientationwith respect to the vertical surface. After hanging the object on thevertical surface, an angular orientation of the object on the verticalsurface may be altered by sliding one lateral side of the object upwardalong the vertical surface, with respect to an opposite lateral side ofthe object.

In various other aspects, a releasable hanging system includes a loopfastener component and a hook fastener component. The loop fastenercomponent includes a flexible patch carrying a field of engageablefibers exposed on a front side of the patch and an adhesive on a backside of the patch. The hook fastener component includes a resin basecarrying an array of male touch fastener elements, a significantmajority of the male touch fastener elements each extending from thebase to a distal tip, to overhang the base in a single, commondirection.

In one of the various aspects, the hook fastener component includes avisible indication, other than the orientation of the male touchfastener elements themselves, of the common direction in which thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements overhang thebase or a direction opposite the common direction in which thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements overhang thebase.

In another one of the various aspects, the hook and loop fastenercomponents are configured to engage each other to form a releasablefastening having an overall engaged thickness of less than about 0.5millimeters, and an engaged shear slack of less than 10 percent of theoverall engaged thickness.

In another one of the various aspects, the hook and loop fastenercomponents are configured to engage each other to form a releasablefastening having an initial shear resistance, loaded in opposition tothe common direction of the significant majority of the male touchfastener elements, that is more than 10 times an initial shearresistance of the releasable fastening loaded in the common direction ofthe significant majority of the male touch fastener elements.

In yet another one of the various aspects, the hook and loop fastenercomponents are configured to provide a peel force of at least 0.1 poundper inch of closure width when peeled in opposition to the commondirection of the significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements.

In some implementations of aspects of the subject matter, thesignificant majority of male touch fastener elements comprises at least75 percent of the male touch fastener elements. In certainimplementations, the significant majority of male touch fastenerelements comprises essentially all of the male touch fastener elements.The male touch fastener elements have stems extending contiguously fromthe resin base, so as to together form one contiguous resin mass. Themale touch fastener elements can be arrayed in rows and columns, eachrow and column comprising multiple male touch fastener elements. Thedensity of the male touch fastener elements is preferably at least 350male touch fastener elements per square inch of the resin base. For manyapplications, some or most of the male touch fastener elements of thesignificant majority have non-reentrant tips, meaning that the tips donot extend back toward the base. Rather, the tips are substantiallyparallel to, or are directed away from, an upper surface of the basefrom which the male touch fastener element extends.

In some implementations, the visible indication of the single, commondirection in which the significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements overhang the base (or a direction opposite the common directionin which the significant majority of the male touch fastener elementsoverhang the base) is an overall shape of the hook fastener component.Alternatively, or in addition, the visible indication includes a graphicprinted on the hook fastener component. In some cases, the hook fastenercomponent includes an adhesive on the back side of the hook fastenercomponent, a release liner covering the adhesive, and a visibleindication provided (e.g., printed) on the release liner. The adhesiveon the back side of the loop fastener component, the back side of thehook fastener component, or both may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

The various inventive aspects described above can be combined forparticular advantage in different embodiments. Additionally, embodimentsmay be provided with other features. In one example, a releasablehanging system may include instructions for adhering a first one of thefastener components to the object, adhering a second one of the fastenercomponents to a surface from which to hang the object, engaging the loopfastener component and the hook fastener component, and adjusting anorientation of the object with respect to the surface. In anotherexample, a releasable hanging system includes instructions for removingthe first one of the fastener components from the object, for removingthe second one of the fastener components from the surface, or for acombination thereof.

Advantages of certain combinations of embodiments described hereininclude the ability to adjust the orientation of an object with respectto a vertical surface without repositioning the fastener componentadhered to the wall and without repositioning the fastener componentadhered to the object. Other advantages of certain combinations ofembodiments described herein include releaseability of the fastenercomponents from the vertical surface and from the object withoutdamaging the finish of the vertical surface or the object.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of components of a releasable hanging systemused to releasably hang an object on a vertical surface.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of components of a releasable hanging systemused to releasably hang an object on a vertical surface.

FIG. 3 depicts adjustment of an orientation of the object shown in FIG.1 with respect to the vertical surface.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict arrays of male touch fastener elements for use inhook fastener components of a releasable hanging system.

FIGS. 5A-5C show details of a male touch fastener element with anon-reentrant tip.

FIG. 6 shows details of a male touch fastener element with anon-reentrant tip.

FIG. 7 shows details of a male touch fastener element with anon-reentrant tip.

FIGS. 8A-8B show details of a male touch fastener element with areentrant tip.

FIG. 9 shows details of a male touch fastener element with two reentranttips facing in opposite directions.

FIG. 10 is an SEM image of an array of male touch fastener elements on ahook fastener component of a releasable hanging system.

FIG. 11 depicts a side view of a portion of a laminate hook fastenercomponent of a releasable hanging system.

FIGS. 12A-12C depict hook fastener components with examples of a visibleindication of a direction opposite the common direction in which thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements overhang thebase of the hook fastener component.

FIG. 13 depicts a side view of a portion of a laminate loop fastenercomponent of a releasable hanging system.

FIG. 14 illustrates removal of a loop fastener component from a surface.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a portion of a loop fastener component of areleasable hanging system engaged with a hook fastener component of areleasable hanging system.

FIGS. 16A-16C are side views of a portion of a loop fastener componentof a releasable hanging system engaged with a hook fastener component ofa releasable hanging system to releasably hang an object from a verticalsurface.

FIG. 17 illustrates relative movement of a substrate with loop fastenerelements and a substrate with hook fastener elements during a process toassess engaged shear slack of the fastening system.

FIG. 18 depicts the range of movement of a loop fastener element duringa process to assess engaged shear slack of a releasable hanging system.

FIG. 19 illustrates displacement of hook and loop fastener components ofa releasable hanging system over a range of shear loading.

FIG. 20 illustrates a releasable hanging system including instructionsfor use.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Releasably hanging an object on a vertical surface may include selectinga vertical surface having a first field of touch fastener elements,selecting a desired orientation of an object with respect to thevertical surface, securing a second field of touch fastener elements toa back side of the object, and hanging the object on the verticalsurface by releasably engaging the first and second fields of touchfastener elements. In some implementations, releasably hanging an objecton a vertical surface includes selecting a vertical surface, selecting adesired orientation of an object with respect to the vertical surface,securing a first field of touch fastener elements to the verticalsurface, securing a second field of touch fastener elements to a backside of the object, and hanging the object on the vertical surface byreleasably engaging the first and second fields of touch fastenerelements. In other implementations, releasably hanging an object on avertical surface includes selecting a vertical surface, selecting adesired orientation of an object with respect to the vertical surface,securing a second field of touch fastener elements to a back side of theobject, releasably engaging a first field of touch fastener elementswith the second field of touch fastener elements, and hanging the objecton the vertical surface by securing the first field of touch fastenerelements to the vertical surface.

One or both of the vertical surface on which the object is hung and aregion of the back side of the object where the second field of touchfastener elements is secured can be rigid. In some cases, the verticalsurface is a wall. The object to be hung on the vertical surface may be,for example, a picture frame, a decorative wall tile, or other rigidobject. The back side of the object may be flat in an area where thesecond field of touch fastener elements is secured.

One of the first and second touch fastener element fields includes ahook fastener component, with an array of male touch fastener elementseach extending from a common base. A significant majority of the maletouch fastener elements are oriented to overhang the base in a single,common direction. Each male touch fastener element of the significantmajority extends from the base to a distal tip. Some or all of thedistal tips can be non-reentrant tips. The orientation of thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements is such that,with the object hanging on the vertical surface, the fastener elementsof the significant majority bear the weight of the object in a downwarddirection and such that the significant majority of the male touchfastener elements are oriented so as to not inhibit lifting of theobject in an upward direction. The other of the first and second touchfastener element fields includes a loop fastener component, with amultiplicity of fibers or loop fastener elements distributed over anarea and engageable by the male touch fastener elements.

In some cases, the first field of touch fastener elements includes maletouch fastener elements and the second field of touch fastener elementsincludes loop fastener elements. The first field of touch fastenerelements is secured to the vertical surface such that a significantmajority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented to overhangthe base in an upward direction with respect to the vertical surface. Inother cases, the first field of touch fastener elements includes loopfastener elements, and the second field of touch fastener elementsincludes male touch fastener elements. The second field of touchfastener elements is secured to a back side of the object such that asignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented tooverhang the base in an downward direction with respect to the verticalsurface. In one example, the first field of touch fastener elements is aloop fastener surface, with an area of loop material that exceeds thedimensions of the back side of the object. For example, the verticalsurface may be a display board, wall panel, bulletin board, or roompartition with a surface including a loop material releasably engageableby a field of male touch fastener elements secured to the back side ofan object.

In one implementation, FIG. 1 depicts components of releasable hangingsystem 100 configured to releasably hang an object from a verticalsurface. Releasable hanging system 100 includes a first field of touchfastener elements 102 and a second field of touch fastener elements 104.The first field of touch fastener elements 102 includes one or more loopfastener components 106. Loop fastener components 106 includes anexposed field of engageable fibers or loop fastener elements 108 carriedon a front side of a flexible patch 110, with an adhesive on the backside of the patch for securing the loop fastener component to a verticalsurface 112. Multiple loop fastener components 106 can be spaced apart(e.g., horizontally and/or vertically) on the vertical surface 112 toform the first field of touch fastener elements 102.

The second field of touch fastener elements 104 includes one or morehook fastener components 114. Hook fastener components 114 include anarray of male touch fastener elements 116 and an adhesive on a back sideof the hook fastener component for securing the hook fastener componentto an object 118 to be hung from the vertical surface 112. Multiple hookfastener components 114 can be spaced apart (e.g., horizontally and/orvertically) on the back side of the object 118. In an example, multiplehook fastener components 114 are spaced horizontally apart on the backside of the object 118 in a selected orientation with respect to thevertical surface 112. To releasably hang object 118 from verticalsurface 112, male touch fastener elements 116 on hook fastenercomponents 114 are releasably engaged with loop fastener elements 108 onloop fastener components 106. With object 118 hung on vertical surface112, as shown in FIG. 3, the male touch fastener elements 116 of thesignificant majority overhanging the base in a single, common direction(i.e., downward with respect to the vertical surface 112) bear theweight of the object 118 in a downward direction.

In another implementation, FIG. 2 depicts hook fastener components 114secured to object 118 and releasably engaged with loop fastenercomponents 106. To releasably hang object 118 from vertical surface 112,a desired location and orientation of the object with respect to thevertical surface is selected. The loop fastener components 106 aresecured to the vertical surface 112 with an adhesive on the back side ofthe loop fastener components by pressing the object 118 against thevertical surface. Securing the loop fastener components 106 to thevertical surface 112 releasably hangs the object 118 from the verticalsurface.

With the object 118 releasably hung from the vertical surface 112, asignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements is oriented soas to not inhibit lifting of the object in an upward direction. Asindicated by the arrows in FIG. 3, an orientation of object 118 may beadjusted with respect to the vertical surface 112. Adjusting anorientation of object 118 with respect to vertical surface 112 caninclude sliding one lateral side 300 of the object upward along thevertical surface with respect to an opposite lateral side 302 of theobject to alter an angular orientation of the object on the verticalsurface.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a top portion of a hook fastener component 114 ofa releasable hanging system 100 includes an array 400 of male touchfastener elements 116 arranged in rows 402 and columns 404 extendingoutwardly from a sheet-form base 406, and together forming with the basea contiguous mass of resin. The male touch fastener elements 116 arearranged with a density of at least 350 male touch fastener elements persquare inch of the resin base. A significant majority of the male touchfastener elements 116 are oriented to overhang the base 406 in a single,common direction, each male touch fastener element extending from thebase to a distal tip 408. Some or all of the tips 408 are non-reentranttips. FIG. 4A shows an array of male touch fastener elements 116 withessentially all of the male touch fastener elements oriented to overhangthe base 406 in a single, common direction. FIG. 4B shows an array ofmale touch fastener elements 116 with some of the male touch fastenerelements 116 oriented to overhang the base 406 in a direction oppositethat of the significant majority of the male touch fastener elements.

U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/328,257 filed Apr. 27, 2010 andentitled “Male Touch Fastener Element,” which is hereby incorporated infull by reference, describes male touch fastener elements suitable foruse in releasable hanging systems. As shown in FIG. 5A, male touchfastener element 116 includes a head 500 having a tip 408 and extendingfrom a stem 502. Tip 408 is a non-reentrant tip. Male touch fastenerelements 116 are engageable in two directions along a plane (i.e., anengagement plane) parallel to sheet-form base 406 in the direction ofcolumns 404 (FIG. 4A).

Referring now to FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, male touch fastener element 116has a substantially constant thickness from base to tip, and includes astem 502 rising from a base 406, and a head 500 overhanging the basefrom a front side 506 of stem 502 to a distal edge at tip 408. Agenerally curved retention space boundary surface 508 is formed, in sideprofile, by front side 506 of stem 502, an underside 510 of head 500,and an upper surface 504 of base 406. Boundary surface 508 forms, at itsinnermost extent 512, a retention cavity 514 defined between curvaturediscontinuities 516, 518 spaced from both base 406 and distal tip 408.

In various implementations, curvature discontinuities 516, 518 are of asingle type. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates an alternativeimplementation of a male touch fastener element 600 in which thecurvature discontinuities include inflection points 602, 604 at whichboundary surface 508 changes from being concave upwards (i.e., positivecurvature) to concave downwards (i.e., negative curvature), and viceversa. In contrast, FIG. 7 illustrates an implementation of a fastenerelement 700 in which the curvature discontinuities are different andinclude a sharp corner 702 and rounded corner 704. As illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7, some implementations include a deeper and/or lowerretention cavity 514. These and other characteristics vary betweenimplementations to achieve varying degrees of performance with respectto peel resistance and/or to mitigate loop breakage.

Referring again to FIG. 5B, retention cavity 514 is bound by a concavecavity wall 520. Concave cavity wall 520 defines a constant curvatureradius 522. In particular, some examples include a constant curvatureradius 522 of less than 20 percent of an overall height 524 of maletouch fastener element 116 above upper surface 504 of base 406. In otherexamples, curvature radius 522 varies (i.e., the distance as measured inside profile from inner most extent 512 of boundary surface 508 toconcave cavity wall 522). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, avariable curvature radius 522, as measured in side profile, increasesfrom corner 704 to corner 702. In each of the examples, the curvatureradius is preferably between about 0.001 and 0.003 inch.

The height, depth, and size of retention cavity 514 and overalldimensions of male touch fastener element 116 are molded to achieve adesired peel thickness, stem thickness, and/or to achieve a desiredratio of these parameters to the overall dimensions of the male touchfastener element. Other details of this fastener element design can befound in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/328,257.

By “peel thickness” we mean the thickness of male touch fastener element116 as measured in side profile along a line 45 degrees to the uppersurface of the base and extending from the front side of the stem to theback of the head, such that the line is normal to the front side of thestem at a point of intersection. For example, in FIG. 5A, line 526 formsa 45 degree angle 528 to upper surface 504 of base 406 and extends fromfront side 506 of stem 502 to the back of head 500 such that line 526 isnormal to the front side of stem 502 at a point of intersection 530. Thepoint of intersection in FIG. 5A is within retention cavity 514. In someimplementations without a retention cavity, the point of intersectionoccurs at a point along boundary surface 508.

Each male touch fastener element 116 has a ratio of peel thickness to anelevation 530 of point of intersection 532 (measured from upper surface504 of base 406) that is greater than 0.75, and preferably greater than0.85. Further, in some examples, innermost extent 512 of boundarysurface 508 is disposed at an elevation 530 above upper surface 504 ofbase 406 such that elevation 534 is less than half of the overall height524 of fastener element 116 above the upper surface 504 of the base 406.Still further, in some embodiments, head 500 is molded such thatinnermost extent 512 of boundary surface 508 and a forward-most portionof distal tip 408 form a line 536 extending at an angle 538 having avalue of between about 20 and 40 degrees to base 406, and preferably 30degrees.

Male touch fastener element 116 includes a stem thickness 540, measuredparallel to base 406 at a region of innermost extent 542 in a verticalplane 544 intersecting boundary surface 508, that is at least twice anelevation 534 of the region of innermost extent above the upper surface504 of the base 406. When distal tip 408 is directed along the row 404of male touch fastener element 116, stem 502 has a thickness 540 that isat least 1.7 times an elevation 534 of the region of innermost extent542 above the upper surface 504 of the base 406.

For some applications, the aspects described herein are combined withmale touch fastener elements of different shapes, such as J-hooks andpalm trees. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a J-hook fastener 800 including atapered, reentrant tip 408, a retention cavity 514, and generally curvedsides 802, 804.

FIG. 9 illustrates a palm tree fastener element 900 extending from base406. Numerous individual, raised portions 902 rise from base 406. Inthis embodiment, each individual raised portion 902, at its upper,central region supports an individual male touch fastener element 904.The upper surface of base 406 lies distance A below the top of the malefastener elements 904, defining the loop space S in which loops mayreside. Male touch fastener element 904 includes stem 906 and head 908.Raised portion 902 includes base portions 910, 912 that extend,respectively, in opposite lateral directions beyond the stem 902. Thehead 908 includes two head portions 914, 916 that project laterally inopposite directions, overhanging oppositely directed sides 918 and 920of the stem 906 and defining loop regions 922 and 924 above the uppersurfaces 926 and 928 of the base portions 910 and 912. Each loop region922, 924, thus has a substantially raised lower bound which improves theprobability that loops entering under the overhanging head portions willbe engaged by the tips 930 and 932 of the head. Furthermore, therelative shortness of the stem 906 in comparison to the elevation A ofthe head 908 (or elevation B of the head tips 930, 932) enables thefastener elements to have desirable lateral bending resistance both inthe plane in which the tips lie and in the orthogonal plane. Additionaldetails regarding palm tree male touch fastener 900 are found in U.S.Pat. No. 7,516,524 to Provost et al., which is hereby incorporated infull by reference.

FIG. 10 is an SEM image of an array of male touch fastener elementsincluding a significant majority of non-reentrant male touch fastenerelements 1000 and palm tree male touch fastener elements 1002. As seenin FIG. 10, each palm tree male fastener element 1002 has two reentranttips 1004, with one of the tips overhanging the base in the samedirection as the non-reentrant tips of male touch fastener elements 1000and one of the tips overhanging the base in the opposite direction asthe non-reentrant male touch fastener elements.

A percentage of male touch fastener elements that overhang the base in asingle, common direction can be calculated as follows. In one example, astatistically representative portion of an array of male touch fastenerelements similar to that shown in FIG. 10 has 100 non-reentrant maletouch fastener elements and 10 palm tree male touch fastener elements.As shown in FIG. 10, essentially all of the non-reentrant male touchfastener elements overhang the base in a single, common direction. Thepalm tree male touch fastener elements overhang the base in twodirections: the direction of the significant majority (i.e., thedirection of the non-reentrant male touch fastener elements 1000) andthe direction opposite the significant majority. The percentage of maletouch fastener tips overhanging the base in the direction of thesignificant majority is (100+10)/(100+20) or about 92 percent. Inanother example, an array of male touch fastener elements includes 88.8percent unidirectional male touch fastener elements with non-reentranttips with a density of 1713 elements per square inch, and 11.2 percentpalm tree male touch fastener elements with a density of 216 palm treemale touch fastener elements per square inch, for a total of 1929 maletouch fastener elements per square inch. The total number of tips persquare inch is 1713+2(216)=2145, with 89.9 percent of the tips facing inone direction and 10.1 percent of the tips facing in the oppositedirection.

The male touch fastener elements of FIGS. 4A-10 can be molded into theshapes shown using one or more techniques. For example, in a moldingtechnique, a thermoplastic resin is extruded as a molten sheet from theextruder and introduced into a nip formed between a pressure roll and acounter-rotating defining fastener element-shaped cavities in itssurface. Pressure in the nip causes thermoplastic resin to enterblind-ended forming cavities to form the fastener elements, while excessresin remains about the periphery of the mold roll and is molded betweenthe rolls to form sheet-form base. The thermoplastic resin is cooled asit proceeds along the periphery of the mold roll, solidifying thefastener elements, until it is stripped by a stripper roll. The moldedfastener elements distend during de-molding, but tend to recoversubstantially their as-molded shape. Further details regardingprocessing are described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,310 to Fischer and U.S.Pat. No. 6,802,260 to Clune et al., the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated in full by reference.

In some embodiments, the mold roll includes a face-to-face assembly ofthin, circular plates or rings that are, for example, about 0.003 inchto about 0.250 inch (0.0762 mm-6.35 mm) thick, some having cutouts intheir periphery defining mold cavities and others having solidcircumferences, serving to close the open sides of the mold cavities andserve as spacers, defining the spacing between adjacent fastener elementrows. A fully “built up” mold roll may have a width, for example, fromabout 0.75 inch to about 6 inches (1.91 cm-15.24 cm) or more and maycontain, for example, from about 50 to 1000 or more individual rings.Further details regarding mold tooling are described by U.S. Pat. No.4,775,310 to Fischer.

The cavities that made the male touch fastener elements shown in FIGS.5A-7 have sharp edges and straight sidewalls (e.g., see sidewalls 546,548 shown in FIG. 5C) and create fastener elements with substantiallysimilar cross-sections through the thickness of the fastener element.Tooling with straight sidewalls and edges can be made by, for example,laser cutting, wire EDM or electroforming. Further details regardinglaser cutting and wire EDM mold tooling is described by U.S. Pat. No.4,775,310 to Fischer. The electroforming process is described by U.S.Pat. No. 7,052,638 to Clarner et al., the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated in full by reference.

By contrast, male touch fastener elements formed in cavities that havebeen, for example, photochemically etched may have rounded surfaces insome or all regions, from base to tip, such as the fasteners illustratedin FIGS. 8A and 8B. For example, surfaces at the top of the heads can bemade to taper to a point to give a wedge effect. A wedge-shape may, forexample, assist the entry of the crook into the face of a mating loopfastener component. Further details regarding photochemical etching isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,939 to Lacey et al., the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated in full by reference.

An alternate technique for molding fastener elements is similar to thatdescribed above, except only a mold roll is used, i.e., no pressure rollis necessary. Here, the extruder is shaped to conform to the peripheryof the mold roll and the extruded resin is introduced under pressuredirectly to a gap formed between the mold roll and the extruder. Themolded fastener component is stripped from the mold cavities by astripper roll as described above. Further details regarding this processare described by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,781,969 and 5,913,482 to Akeno, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated in full by reference.

In some cases, the male touch fastener elements are not molded in theirfinal form. In any of the methods disclosed above, for example, the hookfastener component may be routed through a subsequent processing stationto finalize the form of the male touch fastener elements. Suchsubsequent processing may include “flat-topping” overhanging male touchfastener element pre-forms, as described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,797 toProvost and U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,969 to Akeno, the disclosure of both ofwhich is hereby incorporated in full by reference. In some cases, evenstraight molded stems may be subsequently processed to result infastener elements having the properties disclosed herein. Flat-sidedfastener elements with the profiles shown in FIG. 5C can also be formedby a cut-and-stretch method, such as the method disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,895,569 to Nestegard, for example, which is hereby incorporated infull by reference. In such processes, moldable resin is extruded througha die with openings shaped in the desired hook profile, then theextruded rails are cut transverse to the extrusion direction, and thebase stretched in the extrusion direction to separate the rails intorows of discrete fastener elements. This procedure results in fastenerelements with broad sides that are cut rather than molded, as in theprocesses described above, and with profile edges formed by slidingresin through a shaped die rather than a filling cavity.

FIG. 11 shows a side view of a portion of a hook fastener component 114with male touch fastener elements 116 on a common base 406. As shown inFIG. 11, hook fastener component 114 is a laminate including alaminating adhesive 1100, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film 1102,a silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive 1104, and an optional releaseliner 1106 such as, for example, a protective fluoropolymer liner. Insome implementations, a thickness of the laminating adhesive ranges from0.002-0.004 inch (0.05-0.01 mm), a thickness of the PET film ranges from0.001-0.002 inch (0.025-0.05 mm), a thickness of the siliconepressure-sensitive adhesive ranges from 0.0005-0.001 inch (0.013-0.025mm), and a thickness of the release liner ranges from 0.001-0.002 inch(0.025-0.05 mil). One or more additional intervening layers may bepresent between the base 406 and the silicone pressure-sensitiveadhesive 1104 or the base and the release liner 1106. The release liner1106 is removed from the silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive 1104before the hook fastener component 114 is secured to an object 118 withthe pressure-sensitive adhesive.

As described with respect to FIG. 1, hook fastener component 114 isconfigured to be secured to object 118 with the significant majority ofthe male touch fastener elements 116 overhanging the base in a downwarddirection relative to the vertical surface 112, such that the male touchfastener elements of the significant majority overhanging the base in asingle, common direction bear the weight of the object in a downwarddirection. In some implementations, hook fastener components include avisible indication, other than the orientation of the male touchfastener elements themselves, of the orientation in which the hookfastener component is to be secured to the object such that thesignificant majority of the tips of the male touch fastener elementsoverhang the base in a downward direction with respect to the verticalsurface. Examples of such visible indications are shown in FIGS.12A-12C.

For example, FIG. 12A illustrates a hook fastener component 114 with anoverall shape indicative of the orientation in which the hook fastenercomponent is to be secured to the object such that the male touchfastener elements 116 of the significant majority overhanging the base406 in a single, common direction bear the weight of an objectreleasably hung from a vertical surface in a downward direction. FIG.12B shows a hook fastener component 114 with a graphic indication 1200of the intended orientation of the hook fastener component with respectto vertical surface 112. The graphic indication 1200 is visible on thehook side of the hook fastener component 114 and indicates an intendedorientation of the hook fastener component with respect to the verticalsurface 112. In some implementations, the graphic indication 1200 isprinted on the hook side of the hook fastener component 114 with aninkjet process using a wax-based ink. Printers suitable for applying awax-based ink to the hook surface of a hook fastener component areavailable, for example, from Markem Corporation (Keene, N.H.). FIG. 12Cshows a perspective view of a hook fastener component 114 with graphicindication of the intended orientation of the hook fastener componentrelative to the vertical surface 112 printed on the adhesive side of thehook fastener component (e.g., on the adhesive side of the base 406, onthe silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 1104, or on the releaseliner 1106).

Hook fastener component 114 is designed to strongly engage a low pileheight, loop touch fastener component, particularly a loop componentwith loops formed of knit or non-woven materials. Non-woven materialsare described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,016 to Shepard, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference. Non-woven loop materials areconstructed, for instance, of a layer of fibers or filaments that haverelatively raised or lofty loop regions between regions secured byadhesives or self-adhesive bonds. Loop 3905, from Velcro USA, Inc., isan example of a suitable knit loop material.

FIG. 13 shows a side view of a portion of a loop fastener component 106of a releasable hanging system 100. Loop fastener component 106 is aflexible patch carrying a field of engageable fibers 108 exposed on abase layer 1300. As shown in FIG. 13, loop fastener component 106 is alaminate with a laminating adhesive 1100, a polyethylene terephthalate(PET) film 1102, a silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive 1104, and anoptional release liner 1106 such as, for example, a protectivefluoropolymer liner. Thicknesses of these layers are similar tothicknesses described for layers of the hook fastener components. Insome implementations, one or more additional intervening layers may bepresent between the base 1300 and the silicone pressure-sensitiveadhesive 1104 or between the base and the release liner 1106. Therelease liner 1106 is removed from the silicone pressure-sensitiveadhesive 1104 before the loop fastener component 106 is secured to avertical surface 112 with the pressure-sensitive adhesive.

Silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 1104, combined with theflexibility of the separated fastener components, together enable hookfastener component 114 and loop fastener component 106 to be removedwithout damaging the surfaces to which they are adhered. For example,loop fastener component 106 can be removed from a painted or wallpaperedwall without damaging the finish on the wall, by sharply peeling theloop fastener component back from one corner, so as to create a sharpbend in the component at the point of peel. Similarly, hook fastenercomponent 114 can be removed from the back of a decorative wall tile orother object without damaging the object. As seen in FIG. 14, theflexible loop fastener component 106 may be peeled off of surface 112 bypulling one end of the loop fastener component at an obtuse angle θ withrespect to the surface. When peeled at an angle θ of 170 degrees, forexample, the loop fastener components forms a sharp corner at the pointof peel, with an effective bend radius of less than about 0.025 inch(0.64 mm). In some releasable hanging systems, the bend radius of thehook fastener component exceeds the bend radius of the loop fastenercomponent. In an example, a bend radius of a hook fastener component isabout 0.04 in (1 mm).

FIG. 15 illustrates a side view of a portion of a releasable hangingsystem 100 with loop fastener component 106 engaged with hook fastenercomponent 114. “Engaged thickness” ‘t’ is a measurement of the overallthickness of the engaged closure, prepared according to paragraphs 6.1through 8.23 of ASTM D5170-98, and then engaged according to paragraph8.24 of ASTM D5170-98, except that the roller is pushed across theclosure in only one direction, for one pass, constituting one-half of acycle. Engaged thickness is then measured with the closure in anunloaded state, such as by optical measurement viewing the closure fromits longer edge. Thus, the thickness measurement is made followinginitial engagement under static load of one-half pound per square inchfor two seconds and one rolling load of 11 pounds per inch of closurewidth.

For some applications, the releasable hanging system advantageously isconfigured to have an overall engaged thickness between about 0.3 mm and0.7 mm. In one example, an overall engaged thickness for a releasablehanging system is 0.46 mm (with no release liners). This particularlylow engaged thickness avoids unsightly large gaps between an object andthe surface to which it is fastened, and also reduces tension forces inthe hook-loop engagement caused by the overhang of the object weight.Instead, the vast majority of the weight of relatively planar objects,such as picture frames, with gravity centers close to the wall, isexerted as a shear force in the fastening system, rather than a tensionforce or a peel force.

FIG. 16A depicts an object 118 releasably fastened to a vertical surface112 with a releasable hanging system 100. FIGS. 16B and 16C showenlarged views of a portion of the engaged loop fastener component 106and hook fastener component 114 of the releasable hanging system 100. Asshown in FIG. 16B, when hook fastener component 114 initially contactsloop fastener component 106, male touch fastener elements 116 of thehook fastener component contact fibers 108 of the loop fastenercomponent, with a significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements oriented to overhang the base of the hook fastener component ina downward direction relative to the vertical surface 112. Theorientation of the significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements 114 is such that, with the object 118 hanging on the verticalsurface 112, the male touch fastener elements 114 of the significantmajority bear the weight of the object in a downward direction. Theengagement of fibers 108 of the loop fastener component 106 by maletouch fastener elements 116 of the hook fastener components 114 can beseen in FIG. 16C, for example, by the extension of fibers 108 about thedistal, non-reentrant tip 408 of the male touch fastener elements.

The significant majority of the male touch fastener elements 116 areoriented so as to not inhibit lifting of the object 118 in an upwarddirection. This orientation of the significant majority of the maletouch fastener elements 116 (or tips 408) allows the sliding of onelateral side 300 of the object 118 upward along the vertical surface112, with respect to an opposite lateral side 302 of the object(depicted in FIG. 3) to alter angular orientation of the object on thevertical surface.

Because of the directional nature of the array of hook fastenerelements, the hook and loop fastener components will tend to beseparable by a much lower peel force when peeled in a direction opposedto the direction of the application of the weight of the hung object tothe closure, than when peeled in a direction corresponding to theapplication of the weight. In one example, the fastening system wasseparable by a Peel Force of only 0.112 pounds per lineal inch offastening width (2.00 kg/m) when engaged properly and removed in a peelfashion by pulling the loop fastener component in a direction opposed tothe hook members, but when peeled in the opposite direction (i.e.,toward the direction in which the majority of hook tips extend), therequired peel force for separation was about 0.267 pounds per linealinch (4.77 kg/m). Peel resistance, or the amount of peel force requiredfor separation, of the engaged closure is determined in accordance withASTM D5170-98, employing the integrator average option for calculation.This standard measure is understood to be generally related to theability of the engaged fastener to resist peeling loads that are appliedinitially at one edge of the closure, and propagate across the closureas the two fastener components are separated by peeling.

For many applications, the hook and loop fastener components arepreferably configured to engage each other to form a releasablefastening providing an initial shear resistance, as loaded in the commondirection of the significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements (“forward shear”), that is more than 10 times an initial shearresistance of the releasable fastening loaded in opposition to thecommon direction of the significant majority of the male touch fastenerelements (“reverse shear”). “Initial shear resistance” of the engagedclosure is determined in accordance with ASTM D5169-98. This standardmeasure is understood to be generally related to the ability of theengaged fastener to resist loads applied within the plane of thefastener, and this significant difference between the forward andreverse shear characteristics of the fastening is directly related tothe ease of adjustment by sliding the fastened object upward along thevertical surface on which it is hung, for example.

With reference to FIG. 17, to determine shear slack, as that phrase isused herein, hook material 1700 is laminated to a rigid substrate, suchas, for example, an aluminum panel 1702 and is engaged with loopmaterial 1704 laminated to a second rigid substrate 1706.

Fastening sample sections are prepared with a one inch by one inchoverlap (6.45 sq. cm). Substrate 1702 is then loaded in the directionshown by the arrows in FIG. 17, such that the hook elements engage theloop elements, at a pull rate of about 0.25 inch (6.3 mm) per minuteusing a programmable MTS tester until a shear load F of 0.025 pounds (11grams) is obtained. Once the target shear load has been reached in thisdirection, shear slack is recorded as the displacement (or in-planemovement) Δ of substrate 1702 relative to substrate 1706 at the targetload, as shown in FIG. 18.

As shown in FIG. 19, for fasteners with a significant majority of themale touch fastener elements oriented to overhang the base in a single,common direction, shear slack Δ is generally equal to the range ofmovement in the direction that embeds the male touch fastener elementsin the loop elements. The position of loop 1704 shows the loop extensionrelative to male touch fastener element 1700. Thus, for such releasablehanging systems, shear slack is understood to be movement from initialengagement to the limit of travel in one particular direction.Measurement of the limit of travel of substrates 1702 and 1706 in thedirection indicated in FIG. 17 (i.e., such that the male touch fastenerelements engage loops as shown in FIG. 16C) at the predetermined loadprovides a measurement of shear slack Δ. This shear slack measurement isrelated to the degree of ‘sag’ that a user would perceive in a hungobject as it is initially released.

Preferably, the shear slack is approximately 0.001 inch (0.025 mm) to0.005 inch (0.13 mm). It is also preferable that the engaged shear slackof the fastening be less than 10 percent (more preferably, less than 8percent, and in some applications even less than 4 percent) of theoverall engaged thickness. In one example, with the hook elementsengaging the loop elements at a pull rate of about 0.25 inch (6.3 mm)per minute using a programmable MTS tester, an extension or averageshear slack of 0.003 inch (0.076 mm) was measured at the point where theextension force was 0.025 lbf (11 grams).

Shear slack can be adjusted by varying the hook and/or loopcharacteristics. For example, a loop material having two or more loopsizes will tend to provide a lower shear slack than a material with thesingle greater loop length, and longer loops generally provide moreshear slack than shorter loops. Shear slack may also be varied byvarying the hook head thickness or head or stem width or shape.Distribution of male touch fastener elements on a hook fastenercomponent can be selected to achieve a desired shear slack. For example,a checkerboard pattern of male touch fastener elements on a hookfastener component can have less shear slack than aligned rows ofsimilar male touch fastener elements on a hook fastener component. Also,a higher density of male touch fastener elements generally results inlower shear slack than a lower density of similar male touch fastenerelements. Thus, a low ratio of shear slack to engaged thickness can beachieved by using a suitable combination of design features.

Referring to FIG. 20, a releasable hanging system 100 for releasablyhanging an object to a vertical surface includes a loop fastenercomponent 106, a hook fastener component 114, and instructions for use2000. The instructions may include, for example, text or pictorialinstructions for adhering a first one of the fastener components to anobject, adhering a second one of the fastener components to a surfacefrom which to hang the object, engaging the loop fastener component andthe hook fastener component, and adjusting an orientation of the objectwith respect to the surface. The instructions may also describe how toremove the first one of the fastener components from the object and thesecond one of the fastener components from the surface.

While a number of examples have been described for illustrationpurposes, the foregoing description is not intended to limit the scopeof the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims.There are and will be other examples and modifications within the scopeof the following claims. For example, although the description isdirected toward a releasable hanging system in which the loop fastenercomponent is secured to the vertical surface and the hook fastenercomponent is adhered to the object such that a significant majority ofthe male touch fastener elements overhang the base in a downwarddirection with respect to the vertical surface, in other examples theloop fastener component is secured to the object and the hook fastenercomponent is adhered to the vertical surface such that a significantmajority of the male touch fastener elements overhang the base in anupward direction with respect to the vertical surface.

What is claimed is:
 1. A releasable hanging system comprising: a loopfastener component comprising a flexible patch carrying a field ofengageable fibers exposed on a front side of the patch, and an adhesiveon a back side of the patch; and a hook fastener component comprising aresin base carrying an array of male touch fastener elements, asignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements each extendingfrom the base to a distal tip, to overhang the base in a single, commondirection; wherein the hook and loop fastener components are configuredto engage each other to form a releasable fastening having an initialshear resistance, loaded in opposition to the common direction of thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements, that is morethan 10 times an initial shear resistance of the releasable fasteningloaded in the common direction of the significant majority of the maletouch fastener elements.
 2. A method of hanging an object, the methodcomprising: selecting a desired orientation of the object with respectto a vertical surface; securing a second field of touch fastenerelements to a back side of the object; releasable engaging a first fieldof touch fastener elements with the second field of touch fastenerelements, one of the first and second touch fastener element fieldscomprising an array of male touch fastener elements each extending froma common base, the other of the first and second touch fastener elementfields comprising a multiplicity of fibers distributed over an area andengageable by the male touch fastener elements; and hanging the objecton the vertical surface by securing the first field of touch fastenerelements to the vertical surface, wherein a significant majority of themale touch fastener elements are oriented to overhang the base in asingle, common direction, each male touch fastener element of thesignificant majority extending from the base to a distal tip, andwherein the orientation of the significant majority of the male touchfastener elements is such that, with the object hanging on the verticalsurface, the fastener elements of the significant majority bear theweight of the object in a downward direction and such that thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented soas to not inhibit lifting of the object in an upward direction, andwherein the first and second fields of touch fastener elements are ofhook and loop fastener components configured to engage each other toform a releasable fastening having an overall engaged thickness of lessthan about 0.5 millimeters, and an engaged shear slack of less than 10percent of the overall engaged thickness.
 3. A method of hanging anobject, the method comprising: selecting a desired orientation of theobject with respect to a vertical surface; securing a second field oftouch fastener elements to a back side of the object; releasablyengaging a first field of touch fastener elements with the second fieldof touch fastener elements, one of the first and second touch fastenerelement fields comprising an array of male touch fastener elements eachextending from a common base, the other of the first and second touchfastener element fields comprising a multiplicity of fibers distributedover an area and engageable by the male touch fastener elements; andhanging the object on the vertical surface by securing the first fieldof touch fastener elements to the vertical surface, wherein asignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented tooverhang the base in a single, common direction, each male touchfastener element of the significant majority extending from the base toa distal tip, and wherein the orientation of the significant majority ofthe male touch fastener elements is such that, with the object hangingon the vertical surface, the fastener elements of the significantmajority bear the weight of the object in a downward direction and suchthat the significant majority of the male touch fastener elements areoriented so as to not inhibit lifting of the object in an upwarddirection, and wherein the first and second fields of touch fastenerelements are of hook and loop fastener components configured to engageeach other to form a releasable fastening having an initial shearresistance, loaded in opposition to the common direction of thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements, that is morethan 10 times an initial shear resistance of the releasable fasteningloaded in the common direction of the significant majority of the maletouch fastener elements.
 4. A method of hanging an object, the methodcomprising: selecting a desired orientation of the object with respectto a vertical surface; securing a second field of touch fastenerelements to a back side of the object; releasable engaging a first fieldof touch fastener elements with the second field of touch fastenerelements, one of the first and second touch fastener element fieldscomprising an array of male touch fastener elements each extending froma common base, the other of the first and second touch fastener elementfields comprising a multiplicity of fibers distributed over an area andengageable by the male touch fastener elements; and hanging the objecton the vertical surface by securing the first field of touch fastenerelements to the vertical surface, wherein a significant majority of themale touch fastener elements are oriented to overhang the base in asingle, common direction, each male touch fastener element of thesignificant majority extending from the base to a distal tip, andwherein the orientation of the significant majority of the male touchfastener elements is such that, with the object hanging on the verticalsurface, the fastener elements of the significant majority bear theweight of the object in a downward direction and such that thesignificant majority of the male touch fastener elements are oriented soas to not inhibit lifting of the object in an upward direction, andwherein the male touch fastener elements are of a hook fastenercomponent that includes a visible indication, other than orientation ofthe male touch fastener elements themselves, of the common direction inwhich the significant majority of the male touch fastener elementsoverhang the base.